David Smith
David Smith was an award-winning correspondent for 30 years for ITN/C4News, then worked as an adviser to Kofi Annan at the UN. Now based in Latin America, he writes for The Economist. He is the author of three books, and sometime Visiting Professor in the United States.
Thatcher and me
From Finchley Grammar to Jerusalem, Moscow, and Washington: David Smith recalls his lifelong association with Margaret Thatcher
The FARC and me
David Smith recalls time spent with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia: the most murderous army of insurrection in Latin America’s modern history
Renato and Me
David Smith recalls his association with Renato Curcio, the former leader of Italy’s ultra-left terrorist group the Red Brigades
Mugabe and Me
From bonding over jokes about Jesuit teachers to becoming a persona non grata, David Smith recalls his relationship with Robert Mugabe
Carlos and Me
Following Carlos Menem’s recent passing, David Smith remembers his relationship with the bold and cunning politician
Most Read
The Book of JO’B
James O’Brien’s aggressive incuriosity is becoming ever more embattled as his worldview crumbles
The rise and fall of Nicola Sturgeon
The former SNP leader squandered her talents in a classic tale of hubris
Fear and fury in Belfast
Violence spiralled out of control in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of a shocking crime
The screaming spires
Oxford University must clarify where it stands on academic freedom
Nigel Farage, community leader
The logic of multiculturalism is turning on its architects
Gentrification? Better than deprivation
Elephant and Castle has been radically spruced up, but not everyone is happy about it
The joys of village cricket
Cricket embodies much of what is valuable about our culture
Auntie’s autumn
Rather than wage war on the Beeb, a Reform government should strip it of its monopoly and force British broadcasting to compete again
The emperor’s new AI
A satirical X account is doing what the media class has failed to do, and report on the great AI delusion
Surrogacy is not a human right
Noble principles are being twisted to prop up an exploitative ideology
The miracle of the magical migrants
Is a man’s identity is fluid when he steps on British soil, but calcified on African soil?
Terry tackles literary lightweights
Is a distinguished professor right to hold intellectual biography in low esteem?
Squeezing out your generation
New laws are harming, not helping, younger people
Louis Through
The left-leaning media has lost its moral and institutional authority
Right-wingers must rediscover their principles
Internalising the logic of liberalism has made defeat inevitable
Itamar Ben-Gvir, heel
The Israeli demagogue is a bleak but interesting model of a modern politician
